by Lisa Cassidy
“Nicely done, Lady Egalion,” Tijer said respectfully as they watched the crowd that had gathered slowly disperse.
She nodded, angrily swinging herself back into the saddle. “I want to know what is going on.”
“You’re not the only one.” Dashan’s brown eyes still snapped with fury.
“Calm down, Dash.” Alyx touched his arm again. “We’ll deal with it.”
Dawn shuddered, still white. “If you had heard what they were thinking. I wasn’t prying but their thoughts were so strong… so much violence.”
“It’s going to be fine,” Alyx said, burying her own concern so it didn’t reflect in her voice. “We’ll address the situation first thing tomorrow with Lord-Mage Casovar. He can have those men disciplined once we explain what happened.”
This seemed to reassure the Bluecoats, who remounted and formed a protective escort around Alyx, Tarrick, and the twins as they made their way towards the A’ndreas residence. Dawn kept shooting worried looks at Alyx, though, and Finn’s forehead remained creased with a frown the entire way there.
Chapter 3
Alyx didn’t linger at the A’ndreas home, staying only long enough to hug the twins goodbye and confirm their plans to meet the following morning. The noise and smell of the city faded behind them as she, Tarrick, and her escort rode up into the forested hillside above the city. The light along the road grew dim as the sun began to set over the hill.
Dashan rode stiffly, determinedly uncommunicative, and his Bluecoats were in a similar mood. The joking and camaraderie that had characterised their trip from Widow Falls was gone. Tarrick was quiet too, his thoughts appearing to be far away.
“We’d best head back to the barracks.” Dashan broke his silence as they reached the gates to the Egalion estate.
Alyx nodded. “I’ll see you soon?”
He nodded tersely. “If you have the time.”
He really is in a mood. Ignoring his tone, she turned and called a farewell to the other Bluecoats. They chorused back in a way that made her smile.
“Bye, Dash.”
He tipped the brim of his hat, then turned his stallion and rode off, the rest of the unit falling in behind him. Alyx kicked Tingo forward through the gates. Surprised by her vehemence, the big stallion skittered into a canter, spraying small white pebbles everywhere as he galloped down the driveway.
Tarrick reined in beside her at the front of the house, dark eyes scanning the graceful mansion with approval. “Will your father be home?”
“I’m not sure. He could still be over at the...”
Her words died off as a tall figure emerged from inside the house. His short-cropped greying brown hair framed a serious but handsome face, one that lit into a smile at the sight of her. An answering smile tugged at her mouth, and she swung down out of the saddle to meet him.
“Papa!”
“Alyx?” he asked in astonishment, sweeping her into a hug. “I couldn’t believe it when Safia told me you were riding in.”
She hugged him back tightly, soaking in his warmth and steady presence. She adored her father, always had, and always would. It eased a knot of worry deep inside her to see him safe and sound.
“What are you doing back so soon?” he wanted to know.
She frowned. “What do you mean? Lord-Mage Casovar ordered us back from DarkSkull early.”
Something flickered in his eyes, quickly hidden. “I see.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You didn’t know, did you?”
“I confess I didn’t.” Garan acknowledged with a sigh, but continued speaking before she could question him further. “You’ve brought a guest?”
She nodded, turning to where Tarrick waited awkwardly at the bottom of the steps and waving him up. “You remember Tarrick, Papa? I hope you don’t mind if he stays with us, we have a lot more room here than the A’ndreas family does.”
Garan offered his hand. “Be welcome in my home, Tarrick.”
“Thank you, Lord Egalion.” Tarrick shook the hand firmly. “I appreciate your hospitality, although I’m not surprised. Alyx always speaks highly of you.”
Alyx couldn’t stay quiet any longer. “Papa, we just ran into some soldiers in the city claiming to be a Mage Guard. They were beating a man in the street.”
Something unnameable flashed across her father’s face. “You didn’t intervene, I hope?”
She frowned. “Of course we did. Papa—”
He stepped closer, gripping her shoulders. “Let’s discuss this inside. Go and freshen up and I’ll see you at the dinner table.”
Alyx shared a confused look with Tarrick. “All right.”
“That’s my girl.” He kissed her forehead. “Go on. Tarrick, Safia will show you to one of our guest rooms.”
Safia appeared from where he’d been hovering inside the doorway and ushered
Tarrick inside. Alyx looked back at her father, who remained on the top step, one hand rubbing at his forehead. “Are you all right, Papa?”
He turned, the troubled look on his features replaced with a smile that mingled pride and a touch of sadness. “Last year when you came home, an overly thin and exhausted young girl came rushing out of a carriage and straight into my arms. This year a self-possessed young woman rode through my gates. I’ve never seen you look more like your mother, Alyx.”
Tears pricked at her eyes. “I did better, this time.”
Alyx’s father waited until servants had finished carrying dishes to the table and the kitchen door had closed behind them to speak again. “Tell me what happened this afternoon.”
“When we ran into the Mage Guard, they were dragging a jeweller out of his shop.” Some of her anger returned at the memory of it, her appetite vanishing. “When the Bluecoats instructed them to stand down, they refused. It almost came to a fight.”
Her father’s face tightened. “You shouldn’t have intervened.”
She stared at him, confused. “They were mistreating the man without any evidence of wrongdoing.”
“And risking starting a fight in the streets was the best solution?” her father asked sternly. “You cannot go throwing yourself about as Lady Egalion whenever you like. Not when you’ve been away so long.”
“It wasn’t about that,” she said, taken aback by his vehemence. “And I think the beating of an innocent man does concern me. Are you telling me you would have walked away from that and done nothing?”
Alyx was dimly aware that Tarrick was glancing between the two of them, his expression caught between awkwardness and fascination. The food so far lay untouched on their plates.
“The Mage Guard fall under the remit of the lord-mage,” Garan explained. “I have no authority where they are concerned, and neither do you or the Bluecoats.”
Alyx shared a look with Tarrick. “So we were supposed to sit idly by while an innocent citizen was beaten?”
“You don’t know that he was innocent, that the Mage Guard didn’t have proof,” Garan pointed out.
“That’s true, sir,” Tarrick said carefully. “But their behaviour... it wasn’t consistent with my experience of your Blue Guard, whose level of professionalism and skill rivals that of the Leopards in my country.”
“I acknowledge what both of you are saying,” Garan said. “But you’ve just arrived home after several months away. You’ll be speaking with Lord-Mage Casovar tomorrow, and no doubt he can answer some of your questions. In the meantime, you must not do anything else like you did today. I ask you to trust me on that.”
“Okay.” Alyx nodded hesitantly. “Papa, is everything all right? Has something
happened here that would warrant our early summons home?”
Garan sat back, lifting his hands into the air as if to ward off her questions. “I don’t know why Lord-Mage Casovar ordered you home early. But the situation with Shivasa has grown steadily worse. There are reasons those men behaved as they did this afternoon.”
She opened her mouth to push harder, but the words died whe
n she realised how weary her father looked. “We’ll talk to Lord-Mage Casovar in the morning. I’m sure he’ll be able to explain things to us.”
“Thank you.” He smiled and leaned over, touching her shoulder affectionately. “I am glad to have you home, Aly-girl.”
The pet name made Alyx think of Ladan. She missed him, wished he could be in Alistriem too—at the very least he’d be able to help her make sense of all the changes.
“Lord Egalion,” Tarrick spoke. “Can I ask if you had any problems returning to Alistriem from Carhall?”
Garan shot a considering glance in Alyx’s direction. She gave him a slight nod.
“None. Lieutenant Caverlock’s unit escorted me safely to Tennan, and the worst I can say about the ship journey back to Rionn was the storm we had two nights in. Another unit of Bluecoats was awaiting me in Turatin when I docked, and the trip back to Alistriem was uneventful.”
“I’m glad to hear it, sir.” Tarrick spoke politely, but Alyx hadn’t missed the way his hand clenched briefly around his spoon. Learning the Mage Council was hunting Taliath had affected Tarrick as much as it had her—he idolised the council and everything it stood for, and he’d struggled with accepting what they were doing.
Garan seemed to sense some of Tarrick’s ambivalence. “We may have been worrying about nothing in Carhall.”
“Maybe,” Alyx said, trying to sound sincere for Tarrick’s sake. “Have you had any issues managing the king’s knowledge of what the council is doing?”
The troubled look crossed Garan’s face again. “No. In fact he seems to have forgotten about it entirely. He hasn’t raised it with me since we returned.”
Alyx glanced at Tarrick, who gave a little shrug. Shaking her head, she returned her attention to her food. Inevitably, Garan began asking about their time at DarkSkull. She and Tarrick were careful to keep things general, and not mention the attacks on DarkSkull or being part of a combat patrol. Her father’s reaction to their intervening with the Mage Guard suggested now wasn’t the best time to tell him the extent of her activities at DarkSkull.
Instead they regaled her father with tales of the hot springs, working in the fields, and the endless monotony of mage lessons. Garan appeared to take a liking to Tarrick, and soon they were laughing and joking like they were old friends.
Alyx left them in the middle of Tarrick telling Garan about his family in Zandia and went out to check on Tingo and Tarrick’s mount. Henri had cleverly stabled the two highly-strung stallions next to each other, and they seemed calm enough despite the new surroundings. She lingered a little while to feed Tingo some sugar cubes and stroke his silky nose before heading back to the house.
Her father was rising from his chair as Alyx re-entered the dining room, but Tarrick was nowhere to be seen.
“He was tired and went upstairs to get some sleep,” Garan said in answer to her raised eyebrow.
She smiled a little. “The two of you seemed to get along well.”
“He’s an impressive young man, and very protective of you.” He hesitated. “He speaks glowingly of your Bluecoat escort. Dashan in particular.”
“I’m not surprised, they’re friends,” Alyx said, unsure what her father was getting at.
“Now that you’re home, I think it would be wise for you to keep your distance from Dashan.” He was avoiding her gaze, the fingers of one hand idly tapping the tabletop.
Alyx frowned. While her father had never been entirely comfortable with her having Dashan as a friend, he’d never said anything like this before. “Why?”
“You know his reputation as well as I do.”
“I also know the man. Which, if you bothered to do, might change your opinion of him,” she said. Her puzzlement deepened—this didn’t sound like her father. “Have you forgotten he was the one who got you safely out of Carhall?”
“His abilities as a Bluecoat don’t change who he is.” Garan’s voice had an edge to it now. “You need to start being more conscious of your position, and your role here in Alistriem.”
“What is my role here in Alistriem?” she challenged. “I’m an apprentice mage—you decided that for me when you sent me to DarkSkull two years ago.”
Something in her words made him angry, and his next words came out sharply. “Your tune has certainly changed.”
“So has yours,” she countered. “You’ve tolerated my friendship with Dashan since childhood. Why are things suddenly different?”
“Dashan Caverlock is a wastrel and a fool.” Garan was avoiding her gaze again, his hand on the table curling into a fist. Something was making him angry, but what? She didn’t understand any of this. “His Shiven blood ensures he’ll never become anything more than a lieutenant in the Blue Guard.”
Alyx stared at her father in shock. “Why would you say that?”
“Alyx—”
“No, Papa, where is this coming from?” she insisted. “You’ve always judged people on their merits.”
“Exactly,” Garan said the word sharply, as if it explained everything. “You forget how much older I am, and how much more experience I have. You might consider listening to me for once rather than deciding that you know better than everyone else.”
Alyx stiffened in affront. Her father had never reprimanded her so severely, or so unfairly. She stared at him for a long moment, trying to contain her shock, then turned and walked out of the room without another word. He didn’t try and call her back.
On the other side of the door she hesitated, half of her wanting to go back, to demand answers for why her father was behaving so unlike himself and why her home was so different from when she’d left. But they were both angry, and she didn’t want to say something she’d regret.
By the time she reached her room, hurt was trickling in under her anger and shock. Why hadn’t her father shown more faith in her and how she’d changed? Her mouth thinned with determination. If he wouldn’t see it, then she’d show him. And at the same time, she’d use the opportunity of being home early to find out what had caused all these changes in her home.
Then she could fix it before she went back.
Her old route to the palace hadn’t changed a bit, although tonight Alyx made the journey on foot rather than horseback. Her anticipation grew with every step, her telepathic magic making it easy for her to avoid the Bluecoats on patrol and slip into Cayr’s bedroom window without being seen.
The prince was in his sitting room, reading by the light of his fire, completely absorbed in the book in his lap. Delight bubbled up in her as she regarded him, temporarily replacing the shock and anger that still lingered from her fight with her father.
“Good to know you still leave your bedroom window unlocked.”
He looked up, the astonishment on his handsome features so strong it made her laugh. “Alyx?”
“It’s me.”
Cayr jumped to his feet and crossed the space between them to throw his arms around her. She chuckled at his enthusiasm, returning his bear hug. “It’s so good to see you,” she murmured against his shoulder. “I missed you.”
“Oh Alyx, you have no idea.” They rocked back and forth for a long moment, neither wanting to let go.
Eventually they parted and she beamed up at him. “I can’t tell you how good it is to see your face.”
“You look different,” he murmured. “I can’t quite pin it down, but you really look different. You look great.”
“So do you.” And he did. His features had changed subtly, reflecting those of a young man rather than a boy. His golden curls were neatly cut for once, enhancing his looks. A moment later they both broke into sheepish chuckles as they realised they were staring at each other.
“You’re back more quickly than I expected,” he said, then frowned a little. “Don’t tell me you came through the disputed area rather than by ship?”
“Neither. We... wait, you’re aware of Casovar’s summons and my father isn’t?” Alyx stepped away, shaking her head. “It’s like the
world has turned upside down since I left.”
“It’s not as odd as you make it sound. My father approved the summons, and I spend most of my time with him these days.” Cayr said. “Things have happened while you were away, but no doubt you’ll be meeting with the lord-mage in the morning and he can explain.”
Alyx sighed, accepting the logic in his words. “You’re right. I am glad to be home. I missed you.”
“I missed you. It’s hard not having my best friend around. How are you?”
“I’m okay,” she said honestly. “This year wasn’t as bad as the first. I didn’t expect to be back so soon, though.”
“I assume Dawn and Finn came with you?”
“And Tarrick, too.”
“What about Dash?” Cayr asked eagerly. “My life has been utterly boring since he left. Father has been thrilled that the entire source of frivolity and pranks in my life has been away.”
She smiled automatically, but Dashan’s name caused her to wonder where he was—he’d been so angry earlier. She hoped he was okay, then shook herself in frustration for dwelling on it. She was with Cayr, and she had missed him. Her smile grew wide and genuine. “Remind me to tell you about the incident he caused with the baby spiders.”
“I swear I could hear the two of you bickering from here in Alistriem.” Cayr laughed.
A sharp twinge of guilt twisted in her chest. Cayr saw her look and misinterpreted it. “Come on, one day you and Dashan are going to have to learn to get along. I know what good friends you are despite all the arguing.”
“He riles me,” she grumbled, which was true enough, then sought to change the subject. “I’d like to say our return home was wonderful, but we ran into this new Mage Guard of Casovar’s in the city on our way in.”
Interest flashed over Cayr’s face. “I’m glad. They’ve been doing some excellent work ferreting out Shiven spies in the city. You’ll be working with them while you’re here, I think.”
She frowned. Cayr’s enthusiasm was at sharp odds with what they’d seen. “When we came across them, they were dragging a jeweller out of his store and beating him in the street. You haven’t heard of them doing anything like that before?”
